Cooking Turkey in Convection Oven

Though turkey is mainly a delicacy reserved for Thanksgiving, it is fast coming up on the highly rated menus for other awaited occasions. Times have changed when roast swan or peacock ruled the roost. These were followed by the days of the roast Boar head decorated with fruits. Chicken was introduced in the days of war, and since then, the roast stuffed Turkey has been the most coveted recipe. Today, an overwhelming majority of Christians across America and Europe serve a succulent roast turkey as the centerpiece of their festive meals.

Preparing turkey recipes is definitely not some rocket science, but one expects a perfect end result as anything going wrong in this department means ruining the special occasion. Most of us remember our mums waking up at six to put the turkey in the oven. This would be followed by hours of cooking and basting. After a whole lot of hard work the turkey would emerge golden, brown, crisp and juicy. But on some occasions, our mom would seem dissatisfied with what she had served. Her eyes would tell that something somewhere had gone wrong. Preparing a perfect turkey recipe is an art you can master. And you need a convection oven for that.

For a 10-on-10 Turkey - If you have a Convection Oven, Use it by All Means
First of all, a convection oven cuts the preparation time by as much as 1/3^rd. It uses a fan which is at the back of the oven. This fan periodically recirculates the heated air around the item being cooked, thereby, speeding up the cooking process. Not only this, a convection oven cooks food at a lower temperature which improves energy efficiency. Also the convection process aids in enhancing the taste. These advantages make such ovens stand a chance against those conventional ovens which are now hardly recommended.

Getting Down to Work: How to Cook

1. First and foremost, you must decide on the size of the bird which will depend on the number of people feasting on it. Ideally, one pound per head should be more than enough. So a single bird in the range of 12-15 lbs should be the ideal size.
2. Thawing is the next vital step for a sound beginning. This takes around 3-4 hours per lb, which is around 2 days for a 15 lbs bird.
3. Next, you need to thoroughly clean the thawed turkey while discarding the neck, giblet and the liver. You have the option of either discarding these or using them in the gravy.
4. Preheat the convection oven on ROAST mode to 350°F for 10 min, before you place the turkey in the oven.
5. Season your turkey inside out with salt and pepper and massage some olive oil into the skin. To prevent too quick browning, you need to cover the legs and wings of the turkey with foil. Now place it on the rack of the oven on a heavy roasting pan. Do not remove the thread tied to hold the legs together. Most people roast the turkey breast-up, but believe me, breast-down is an upcoming trend.
6. In case of the stuffing, it is advised to prepare it separately instead of stuffing it in the turkey while roasting. By doing this, we save on a lot of time and also make sure that the stuffing gets cooked completely as the large size of the bird's body hampers heat penetration.
7. After having reached this stage, you need to be patient, as slow, steady cooking reaps great results. You can have great results if the roasting is started at around 150°F initially, then gradually increasing up to 350°F for a brief period and then maintaining it to around 250°F till you think it is appropriately cooked and golden brown in color.
8. Now, remove the turkey from the oven and stuff its abdominal cavity with the stuffing. Meanwhile, ensure that the oven stays heated. Now replace the stuffed turkey in the oven at around 200°F for a brief period till the juices get uniformly mixed.
9. Now remove the turkey from the oven and let it stay for at least 20 min. This will facilitate the redistribution of juices throughout the meat, making it soft, tender and juicy.
10. Your turkey is now ready to go under the knife, transferred on to the platters and ready to be served.

Here's a table that would prove handy in knowing how long to cook a turkey breast in oven.

Whole Turkey	Oven Temperature	Cooking Time (hours)
8-12 pounds	250-325°F	3  - 4 hours
12 - 16 pounds	250-325°F	4  - 5 hours
16 - 20 pounds	250-325°F	5  - 6 hours
20 - 24 pounds	250-325°F	6  - 7 hours

Surely, cooking your turkey this way will prove more beneficial. For those who don't own a convection oven, it is time to make an investment in which you will never be at loss. I hope, the convection oven becomes one of your home appliances soon. Happy cooking.